Simon Williams (Earth-616)
__TOC__ Real Name: Simon Williams Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Former industrialist, now stuntman, actor, adventurer Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal record Identity: Publicly known Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Former ally of the original Masters of Evil, former member of the East Coast Avengers, current member of the West Coast Avengers Base of Operations: Mobile Origin Place of Birth: Paterson, New Jersey Known Relatives: Sanford (father, deceased) Martha (mother), Eric (alias the Grim Reaper, brother, deceased), Vision II ("brother") First Appearance: AVENGERS #9 Origin: Origin unknown. History Simon Williams was the younger of two sons of Sanford Williams, an industrialist who founded a highly successful minutions factory called Williams Innovations. When his older brother Eric declined his father's offer to join the family firm, Simon, the more studious, less athletic of the two, readily accepted. When Sanford Williams died, Simon inherited full control over the business, although he was only 22. Under Simon's inexperienced management, Williams Innovations began to lose its competitive edge in the marketplace to such rapidly growing firms as Stark Industries. Desperately, Simon sought his brother's aid, and the elder Williams agreed to offer his advice. Eric suggested to Simon that he embezzle some money from the company in order to invest in some business enterprises Eric had gotten wealthy from, namely the illicit racketeering run by the criminal Maggia families. Desperate to save his father's business, Simon did as his brother suggested. His embezzlement and Maggia connection was discovered by his company's board of directors, and Simon Williams was brought to trial. Found guilty and facing a prison sentence, Williams was released when Amora the Enchantress paid his bail and ensorcelled the authorities. Baron Heinrich Zemo had read of Williams' case and, intrigued by the newspapers' assertion that he blamed Anthony Stark for his downfall, dispatched the Enchantress to recruit Williams for the Masters of Evil. (Zemo believed Stark to be the employer of his enemy Iron Man; in fact, Stark was himself secretly Iron Man.). Disoriented by the upheavals in his life, Simon Williams agreed to accompany the Enchantress to Zemo's South American base. Williams agreed to become a test subject for Zemo's "ionic ray" treatment, a process that would endow him with superhuman strength and durability. After undergoing the arduous chemical and radiation treatments, Williams emerged with the attributes he was promised. Zemo then gave him a costume, dubbed him Wonder Man, and outlined his plan to use him to defeat his foes the Avengers. To ensure Wonder Man's cooperation, Zemo told him that a side effect of the treatment that gave him his superhuman powers was that it altered his metabolism so that he would die within the week unless he was given regular treatments of an unspecified antidote. Not wishing to die, Wonder Man agreed to Zemo's plan and in a staged battle with the Masters of Evil, he won the confidence of the Avengers. When he explained to them that he was dying, the Avengers accepted Wonder Man into their ranks and unsuccessfully tried every means of science known to them to cure him. Soon Wonder Man led the Avengers into an ambush by the Masters of Evil. In the course of the battle, Wonder Man had an attack of conscience and decided that he could not betray the Avengers' kindness to him even if it cost him his life. Deprived of Zemo's life-prolonging treatment, Wonder Man succumbed to the mysterious side effect of his power acquisition. Telling the Avengers that he was glad that his final act was a noble one, Wonder Man fell still, displaying no vital signs. Although the Avengers assumed that he had died and brought his body back to the United States for identification and burial, Wonder Man had actually gone into a deathlike coma brought on by the still unstable mutagenic changes triggered in his body. Sometime later, Williams' brother Eric, now known as the criminal Grim Reaper, retrieved his younger brother's body. The Reaper wished to use his brother's cryogenically preserved body to bribe the Vision, the android whose artificial brain was cybernetically programmed with the memories and behavior patterns of Simon Williams, into betraying the Avengers. The Grim Reaper tried to convince the Vision that his consciousness could be transferred into Wonder Man's body, giving the Vision a more human form. Later, the Reaper claimed that Wonder Man could not be resurrected and offered to have the Vision's consciousness transferred into Captain America's body instead. The Vision pretended to go along with the Reaper's scheme in order to help the Avengers apprehend him. The Grim Reaper managed to escape after the incident, however, and took with him his brother's seemingly lifeless body. Now obsessed with the idea of reviving his brother by any means whatsoever, the Reaper took Wonder Man's body to New Orleans hoping that the local houngans (voodoo priests) could resuscitate it. Led by the Black Talon, the leader of their voodoo cult, the houngans used their magic's to reanimate Wonder Man, but as a mindless zombie. Frustrated by the imperfect result, the Grim Reaper had the houngans instruct the semi-living being to accuse the Vision of "stealing" his mind. He then pecked the body into a large crate and shipped it to Avengers Mansion. When the crate was opened, Wonder Man indeed did as bade but to no real effect. The Avengers subdued Wonder Man and brought it with them to New Orleans to investigate what had happened. Curiously, as Wonder Man began moving about again, he began shaking off the effects of both the houngans' magic and Baron Zemo's detrimental radiation treatment. Within a few days, Wonder Man was conscious and fully functional ones again, much to his surprise. The Avengers later examined him and learned that he had simply been in a coma while his body was fully metamorphosized from one of flesh and blood to one of an unspecified superhuman flash-like substance nourished by ionic energy instead of blood. Wonder Man suffered considerable psycholoical trauma adjusting to the change that had come over him as well as his memories of being "dead." During the initial months of adjustment, he resided at Avengers Mansion as a guest and frequently lent his aid to the team. Despite his vast strength and resistance to injury, Wonder Man dreaded the thought of dying and facing oblivion again, and was often overwhelmed by cowardice in life-threatening situations. Finally, while battling the near-omnipotent Korvac, Wonder Man was able to master his fears long enough to live up to his full potential. However, he still felt twinges of the same irrational fear from time to time, Unable to vanquish it completely. He was eventually re-elected to membership in the Avengers, and became close friends with his Avenger the Beast. The Grim Reaper, learning that his brother was now conscious and no longer zombie like, stole into Avengers Mansion, subdued the Avengers, and held a mock trial to determine if this Wonder Man truly was his brother. Satisfied that Wonder Man was his brother brought back to full life, the Reaper planned to kill the Vision, whom he saw as an inhuman mockery of his brother. Wonder Man fought his brother to save the Vision and defeated him. The Avengers committed the Grim Reaper to a mental institution but he eventually got free. The Reaper was now convinced that despite the evidence of the trial Wonder Man could not be his brother for his brother would never lift a hand against him. Thus both the Vision and Wonder Man were mockeries of his brother who must die. The Reaper made another attempt on the two that ended in failure. While living at Avengers Mansion, Simon Williams decided to seek employment in order to give himself something useful to do and so he was not financially dependent upon the Avengers. Having no inclination to go back into a business where he had faced his greatest humiliation, he determined to become an actor since he felt that during much of his time with the Avengers he was only acting at being a hero. His steadiest work was as a strongman on a children's television show. He eventually quit the job and also terminated his Avengers' membership during a major reshuffling of the roster. Unable to get decent acting work, he accepted a job at Cordco Incorporated as a troubleshooter and security consultant. He only lasted there a day before deciding to move on. Heading out to Los Angeles, he decided to exploit his nearly indestructible body by doing stunt work for the movies. He was highly successful at this and soon began getting acting work as well. When Hawkeye went to Los Angeles to form the West Coast Avengers, Wonder Man was invited to join the team. Despite certain qualms about living up to the Avengers' standards, he accepted. While helping the team in its struggle to establish its own identity, Wonder Man began to come to terms with himself and his role as a hero. Impressive victories over such foes as Graviton, Ultron, and his brother the Grim Reaper served to bolster his self-esteem and his stunt work served to remind him just how impervious he was to mortal danger). His turning point came when he went on national television to announce that he was guilty of the embezzlement charge brought against him years ago and that he was sorry about it. Released from the grip of this personal devil of his past, Wonder Man was gratified when the public gave him a vote of confidence for his candid admission. He has also come to regard the Vision as a surrogate "twin brother" due to their psychological similarity. Simon's confidence continued to increase with each victory. Suffused with ionic energy, he began to feel as if he were immortal ... until the explosion of a Kree ion-cannon dispersed his body's ionic energy. But Wonder Man's mind lingered. His love for Wanda Maximoff, the hex-casting heroine called the Scarlet Witch, tied him to the mortal plane. And her love for him enabled Wanda to channel the chaos-energies she wields to bring Wonder Man back to life. Feeling unworthy of a second chance due to the mistakes of his past, Simon sought to reclaim his dignity and sense of self-worth. To help those overwhelmed by forces beyond their control, he established Second Chances -- a non-profit foundation funded by the re-release of his movies and videos, plus countless new projects and endorsements. Finally free of his personal demons, Wonder Man has become a confident, capable crimefighter and staunch member of the Avengers. Characteristics Height: 6'2" Weight: 380 lbs (173 kg) Eyes: Red Hair: Grey (dyed black) Unusual Features: Wonder Mans eyes no longer have irises. His entire eyeball is permeated with shifting spots of energy, presumably the "ionic" energy that gave him his powers. Powers Strength Level: Wonder Man possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) 95 tons under optimal conditions. Known Powers: Wonder Man possesses superhuman strength, durability, speed, stamina as well as the power of flight. The tissue and bones of his entire body have been augmented in strength and to a certain extent supplanted by an unknown substance during the "ionic ray" bombardment. Despite Wonder Man's statements that he is composed of "ionic energy," he is actually composed of organic matter that is permeated with this form of energy. His superhuman stamina enables him to exert himself at peak level for up to one half hour before fatigue poisons build up in his blood, causing him to tire. His skin and tissue is hard enough to enable him to resist virtually any form of penetration wound. He can withstand temperature extremes from -150 degrees to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit without any harm. He no longer requires food, water, or air, since the energy that gives him life is far more efficient and self-sustaining than the biochemical processes that sustain ordinary human life. Despite his various invulnerabilities, it still is possible to render him unconscious by a sufficiently powerful force. He still possesses nerve endings which allow him to feel pain at certain level. Because of the energy empowering him, Wonder Man no longer ages. Known Abilities: No known abilities. Limitations: As an ionic energy being Simon is susceptible to attacks that disrupt his unique energy pattern. Dispersion would be hazardous as he might not be able to reform without further assistance from the Scarlet Witch. Miscellaneous Equipment: Even though he no longer requires it, Wonder Man once employed small jet-engines that he wears on a shoulder harness in order to fly. These engines, designed by Anthony Stark, enable him to fly for up to 5 hours before refueling. He can attain a maximum altitude of 2 miles and a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour (provided he is not carrying any cargo). He can lift aloft up to 300 pounds before he exceeds the design limits of the jet engines. He can exceed the design limits by a maximum factor of 1000 before causing a total system seize-up. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes * In the Guardians of the Galaxy alternate future Simon had become a major film star and and continued to operate as a superhero under the name of Hollywood. Related Articles * External Links * References * Marvel Directory ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Public Identity Category:Avengers members Category:Ionic Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Red Eyes Category:Grey Hair Category:Single Characters